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Jaguar launches new classic racing series

One-make racing series have become all the rage for customers who want to actually race their exotic sports cars (or competition-spec versions of them, anyway). Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and Aston Martin all offer such programs, and Porsche supports several. Now Jaguar is getting in on the action as well, but instead of turning one of its production models - we're looking at you, F-Type - into a spec racer, it's launching an historic racing series instead.
The 2015 Jaguar Heritage Challenge will be open to cars made by the Leaping Cat marque before 1966, including the C-Type, D-Type, E-Type and Mk I and MkII sedans. The series, which builds on the success of the previous Jaguar E-Type Challenge, will be administered by the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC) based at Silverstone and will include four races in the UK and one in Europe, with the exact schedule still to be determined.
The program was announced at the launch of the Jaguar Heritage Driving Experience, where Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations director John Edwards was also named chairman of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, replacing former Jaguar managing director Mike O'Driscoll who chaired the organization for the past five years.

Jaguar Land Rover rescues British off-road tuner Bowler

Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicles Operation (SVO) rescued British off-road tuner Bowler from an uncertain fate. The firm has worked with Land Rover in the past, but it has always been independent. While JLR isn't in an ideal position to make acquisitions, and its recent financial troubles are well documented, Bowler was on the brink of shutting down. The small, 34-year old company had entered administration, and the 26 people it employed risked losing their jobs. Monetary details haven't been released, meaning we don't know how much Bowler was worth, but the firm pointed out it's now fully owned by SVO. It joins SV, Vehicle Personalization, and Classic as the division's fourth pillar. It's too early to tell precisely where Bowler will fit in the JLR latticework, because the initial focus will be on stabilizing the company. It will remain based in Belper, England, and every member of its full-time staff has been offered a position as a JLR employee. Bowler made a name for itself by turning the original Defender into a rally car, and Land Rover said the expertise it acquired during decades of racing is highly sought after, so that's a hint we'll see more hardcore models developed jointly by the two companies sooner or later. The new Defender would lend itself well to the Bowler treatment. The Bowler name could replace the SVX nameplate used on the stillborn, V8-powered Discovery, for example. The tuner's focus on off-pavement performance means we're unlikely to see a Bowler-badged Jaguar, but anything is possible as global demand for SUVs (especially quick ones) continues to rise. What's certain is that, once Bowler is stable, it will grow bigger.

Jaguar C-X17 crossover concept revealed, hides new lightweight aluminum architecture

Just as Jaguar teased earlier this month, the luxury marque is debuting its first-ever sports crossover concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, which begins this week. In addition to previewing what a soft-roading Jag might look like, the C-X17 concept also showcases the brand's new advanced unibody aluminum architecture, which it calls the future of its brand.
The British automaker touts the new technical foundation as high-strength, lightweight and extremely stiff, and notes that it incorporates sustainable technologies such as a high-strength alloy made from recycled raw material. The architecture's flexibility means Jaguar will be able to simultaneously manufacture several vehicles on the same production line - a change that will ultimately help the automaker grow its product portfolio.
Indeed, if the C-X17 concept sees production, it would represent a completely new direction for Jaguar, which has previously focused on luxury sedans and sports cars. However, while Jaguar says a range of future models will be built using the new architecture, it hasn't yet mentioned a crossover. The first model to be built on the new underpinnings will launch globally in 2015, and it's - you guessed it - a premium midsize sedan.